House passes historic legislation to protect horses

Landmark vote shows overwhelming bi-partisan support for horse protection

SACRAMENTO, CA (September 7, 2006) – Today, the United States House of Representatives voted to pass H.R. 503, which bans the slaughter of horses for human consumption. The bill passed 263 to 146. Two amendments were put forth by the opposition that would have gutted the bill and allowed horse slaughter to continue. Both amendments were defeated.

More than 90,000 horses are slaughtered in the United States every year at three foreign-owned slaughterhouses. Horse meat is not eaten in the United States, but it is exported to Europe and Asia, where it is considered a delicacy in many countries. Horse slaughter was banned in California in 1998 and recent surveys in Texas, Virginia and Kentucky show that 70 percent of respondents are opposed to slaughtering horses for meat.

United Animal Nations praises those horse advocates who urged their representatives to vote for this historic legislation. To find out how your representative voted, view the vote roll call here .

If your representative voted in favor of H.R. 503, please thank him or her for caring about horses.To find your representative, call the Congressional switchboard at (202) 224-3121 or click here . 

Next, the bill will go to the Senate as S. 1915.

Stay informed about this bill and how you can help protect horses! Subscribe to UAN’s Action Alerts and PMULines e-newsletters.

View answers to common myths about horse slaughter here.

View a video of horse slaughter here. Contains graphic footage.

Discuss this bill and the next steps on our message boards.

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